JVC SU-DH1 Surround Sound Headphone Adaptor

Some of the music settings can give a greater sense of space to older, fuzzy recordings. A few movie modes offer interesting listening options.

Cons
Most music modes sound terrible on modern recordings. Some movie modes actually seem to decrease the stereo separation the box supposedly enhances. Audio cord is too short. Runs on AA batteries and goes through them quickly.

Bottom Line

It's hard to make an argument that the SU-DH1 is worth your hard-earned $130. I'm sorry to say that this "surround sound" adapter box for your headphones offers few excellent sounding options.

I first saw JVC's new SU-DH1 Surround Sound Adaptor at CES in January, and now I finally have one in my hands. Featuring Dolby Headphone Technology and designed to provide truly immersive surround sound through ordinary stereo headphones, this gizmo was too tantalizing to ignore. Sadly, I wasn't very impressed by its actual performance.

I admire Dolby's efforts to turn the stereo-headphone experience into a true surround-sound one, but the problem here is basic, and there's no real way around it. Simply put, it's nearly impossible to make two speakers sound like five. Dolby knows this, so rather than focusing on the impossible (making sounds move behind you, as they can in a 5.1 setup), the company focuses on making the listening space seem bigger. Though I'm sure the algorithms are more complex than this simple explanation can do justice to, the main thing Dolby has done is added reverb. This succeeds a little bit for film watching but doesn't necessarily improve the listening experience, and for music this technique sounds absolutely terrible on modern recordings.

As the manual explains, Dolby Headphone turns multimedia material labeled with Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Digital Surround EX, DTS-ES, and MPEG-2 AAC into a two-channel, virtual-surround mix for your headphones. The box-shaped device itself has a digital input, an analog input, and a display that tells you what type of Dolby technology is being used. On the right side of the display is the Dolby Pro Logic II section, with "movie" and "music" modes (or "auto," which will switch to either mode for you if you have a digital connection). There is a button for switching between these modes, and next to it a button for the three available Dolby Headphone modes, also represented on the right-hand side of the display.

As the manual explains, DH1 "reproduces the sound with less reverberation, like a mixing studio." DH2 and DH3 settings add more and more reverb, attempting to mimic, respectively, a "usual listening room" and a "mini theatre or concert hall." There are also a volume knob and a headphone jack. One major design flaw is the length of the built-in analog connecting cable that is meant to plug into your iPod, computer, or other sound source: only 5.3 inches. This cable is supposed to be short, as the SU-DH1 is intended for on-the-go virtual surround sound, but it's so short that if you plug it into a desktop's audio-out port, the box literally dangles from the jack, because the cable isn't long enough for the box to reach a nearby surface to rest on.

The biggest problem here, however, is the SU-DH1's performance. I can report only one instance of success using this box with music. An old vinyl recording of New Orleans jazz that I converted to MP3s for a coworker sounded nice in all three DH modes, creating the illusion of a bigger listening space. But any music with vocals and all modern recordings that I listened to had serious sound defects in all modes. I can't be sure, but it sounds as if the box is throwing the signals so far out of phase that you notice the added (and unnecessary) reverb a lot less than you do the phasing defects on the vocals and percussion. At worst, it sounds like a very low-quality MP3. There is simply no way to say this will improve your listening experience, at least with recent recordings.

Film fared a little better. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissoua Dolby Digital DVDwas listenable in DH1. It sounded sort of the way a large movie theater might sound if you were sitting far from the speakers. Too bad the device is supposed to be mimicking a mixing studio. Other modes add way too much reverb, and every mode appears to decrease the amount of stereo separation, making things seem as if they are moving around less. This is the exact opposite of what this product is supposed to accomplish. Also, though I did not do an official battery test, the AA batteries gave out after one and a half days of intermittent use.

I'm sorry, Dolby: Though you have certainly contributed more than just about any other company to positive developments in multimedia listening over the past few decades, this Dolby Headphone technology isn't up to snuff. And JVC, you can do better. For a price tag of $130 (list), I certainly can't recommend this product.

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Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service